Question a US President About Sudan

Here’s your chance to pose questions to a president about global issues.

The world’s eyes are focusing on Sudan, which on Sunday will hold a referendum on independence in the southern part of the country. The south, which holds more than 75 percent of the country’s oil, is expected to vote almost unanimously for secession, and that will start a process that could lead to the birth of Africa’s newest country. In the past, there had been a good deal of fear that the referendum might lead to renewed warfare, but so far the process has gone better than many had expected.

One of the observers monitoring the referendum on the ground is former President Jimmy Carter, who has long experience in Sudan and also monitored the 2010 elections there. The Carter Center is engaged in Sudan not only in helping the referendum go smoothly, but also in important development efforts — including an initiative to eradicate Guinea worm that I chronicled last year in a column and video.

So pose your questions about Sudan and the referendum and President Carter and I will attempt to answer them. You’re also welcome to ask about the implications for Darfur and the region, and about poverty-related issues like Guinea worm and illiteracy that also constitute Sudan’s challenges in the years ahead.

Just write your questions in the comments field below. We’ll answer a selection of them on this blog starting on Monday, Jan. 10th.

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/question-a-president-and-me-too-about-sudan/?hp